


Shreds

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crack and Angst, Escalators, Eventual Hopeful Ending, Fear, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Nervousness, Scared Doctor, Shopping Malls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 02:10:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1370050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mel convinces The Doctor to take her shopping in one of the intergalactic malls. While there, she inadvertently exposes one of his deep-set, unusual fears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shreds

“Of all the places we could go, Melanie, you chose a shopping mall?” The Doctor sighed again as he and Mel emerged from the TARDIS.

“Ever since I started traveling with you, I’ve shredded at least three outfits a week!” Mel exclaimed. “I need backups—and maybe we can find you something suitable to wear too.”

The Doctor scoffed rudely, as he tended to do when Mel got him up too early. “I choose my dress carefully every morning, thank you very much!”

“It’s the same coat every day.”

“Exactly! No other clothing fits my passionate style!” The Doctor declared, waving his hands in the air for emphasis.

“Your passionate _stomach_ , you mean,” Mel retorted, elbowing him in the gut. Ignoring his indignant sputters, Mel urged, “Let’s get moving!”

They mingled with a throng of people who were entering the alien shopping mall. The Doctor dragged his feet and muttered, trying to avoid the doors for as long as possible, but Mel grabbed his arm and steered him. Not very accurately, it seemed, as he banged his head on the doorframe.

“Aggh!” The Doctor cried out, rubbing his head and growling while Mel laughed sheepishly.

“Sorry, Doctor. You could’ve just gone through them yourself, you know.”

The Doctor huffed. “Well, I would have if you hadn’t taken such a—oh, never mind.” He stalked through the door with Mel on his heels into a two-story white-and-silver clothing palace, echoing with the buzz of visitors.

“Let’s go over there,” Mel suggested, running toward an area with racks of skirts. The Doctor followed, glaring at the clothing with a critical eye.

“All of it lacks personality,” he announced, planting his hands on his hips.

“Well, I like them!” Mel argued, pulling out one and holding it up to herself. “Did you bring money, by any chance?”

“I’m not your personal depository,” The Doctor snapped. Nevertheless he pulled out a gray chip and handed it to her. “200 credits there. Don’t spend it all on sartorial, meretricious tosh.”

“I won’t! Thank you, Doctor,” Mel said warmly. The Doctor’s expression softened just slightly and Mel grinned. “This’ll be fun. Do you want to go upstairs?”

“How? Is there a lift?” The Doctor looked for one, but Mel spotted something else first.

“No, we can take the escalator,” she suggested, heading for the staircase that was moving to the second level. “Maybe I can find some shirts on the upper—”

“Melanie,” The Doctor cut in, “I’d really rather be conventional and take the lift...wherever it is.”

“But it’s probably not even near here,” Mel complained.

“I just don’t like those newfangled things,” The Doctor replied heatedly.

“It’ll be a new adventure, Doctor,” Mel pushed and, knowing just where to jab him, added innocently, “Besides, aren’t you a man of the future?”

The Doctor straightened his posture by a hard tug on his rainbow lapels. “Of course I am!”

“Well, then, c’mon.” Mel started to walk away, rolling her eyes as The Doctor continued making excuses from behind her.

“When did it happen that _I_ was the one taking _your_ orders? If you don’t want to take a lift, can’t we find a flight of stairs that don’t move? It...It’d be good exercise, wouldn’t it?”

Mel halted at that, pivoting slowly to stare at The Doctor in disbelief. “You want to exercise?” she asked incredulously.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably. “Well...I...no, not really, but—”

“So just take the escalator with me!” Mel urged, reaching for his arm. He jerked away with a scowl.

“I can walk by myself.” Thus he followed her toward their fellow shoppers who were boarding the moving steps.

Mel and The Doctor stopped at the base of the escalator, where the companion motioned upward. “Go on, Doctor.”

“Ladies first,” The Doctor answered immediately.

“You really are a gentleman,” Mel said sarcastically, inwardly wondering why he was clasping his hands so tightly together, “but I want to make sure you won’t run off as soon as I go up.”

The Doctor shuffled forward a bit, eyeing the rising stairs with unease. Mel glanced over her shoulder and flushed. People were gathering, giving little sighs of impatience and staring at them.

“ _Go_ , Doctor, you’re holding up the line!” Mel hissed.

The Doctor put one of his feet out, hovering over the bottom step, but it disappeared before he stepped on it. Mel almost thought she saw his foot quiver a little, but she was too embarrassed by his behavior to consider what it might mean. Thinking he was drawing it out for attention, she gave him an exasperated shove.

“Hurry up!” she snapped.

The Doctor let out a little high-pitched whine before letting his foot land. As the step began to rise he leapt forward and planted his other foot also. Relieved, Mel went after him.

As soon as they were at the top, The Doctor jumped onto the solid ground, stumbling slightly. Mel stepped off serenely after him.

“See? That was fine,” she stated blatantly. The Doctor gave a jerky nod.

“Yes, of course it was. Excellent,” he agreed, cracking his fingers. Mel nodded her approval and turned toward a pile of vibrant shirts, not noticing how The Doctor’s knuckles slowly faded from bright white to his normal skin tone.

After an hour and a half of wandering about the upper level, Mel had The Doctor juggling four shopping bags, while she herself held three more. “Should we get back to the TARDIS?” Mel asked.

“That’s the best proposal you’ve made today,” The Doctor agreed, his voice muffled by the bags stacked in his arms.

“Alright, come this way,” Mel said, grasping his wrist and guiding him along. After a few minutes of walking, she announced, “Here’s the ‘down’ escalator—”

The Doctor’s bags fell with a series of thuds and Mel cried out in dismay. “Hey, I just bought those! Why are you being so clumsy?” She bent down, hefting the bags up from the ground, and when she looked up at him again, she froze.

“Doctor? What’s wrong?” Mel straightened as the colors cloaking him suddenly shuddered.

“Not down. Not down, please,” he panted, suddenly breathless.

Mel stared at him. “You can’t be afraid of heights,” she said tentatively, trying to understand what was wrong.

“No, but the thought of...of tipping and falling down those moving stairs makes me rather...disconcerted,” he stammered. His quaking knees and colorless face betrayed him.

 _Disconcerted?_ Mel thought in concern. _More like terrified; have you seen yourself?_ “Alright,” she acquiesced after a moment. “Let’s try to find a lift.” The Doctor backed away with enthusiasm.

“Thank you, Melanie, I’m grateful.”

The Doctor’s relief was soon sponged away by panic when their search proved fruitless. Reluctantly Mel took his arm and led him back toward the escalator.

“Don’t worry, Doctor, I’ll be there with you,” she soothed when he started backpedaling like a skittish horse.

The Doctor shook his head forcefully, his pale blond curls flopping about his equally pale face. “That doesn’t curtail my fe—apprehension,” he quickly kept himself from speaking the vulnerable word ‘fear’.

“If it doesn’t help at all, just step on and get it over with,” Mel told him patiently. “If you need to hold someone’s hand or something, I’ll be right in front you.” She stepped on, glancing back at him with an encouraging smile.

Hoping to keep the small shreds of dignity he had left, The Doctor edged toward the escalator. He halted at the top, staring down with wide blue eyes at the moving stairs. Swallowing the nausea that rose in his throat, he stepped out in faith and immediately clung to the rail, the veins in his hands going taut.

“This...this isn’t t-too bad,” he pronounced, his following laughter on the edge of hysteria. Mel stepped off at the bottom and he started to follow suit before being jerked back suddenly. Despite himself he shouted as he thrashed, trying to get the edge of his long coat out of the mechanisms.

“Melanie-e-e-e!” he screeched as he fell, more and more of his coat being eaten by the escalator. “Help me!”

His companion whirled with a gasp of horror, throwing away her bags and seizing his outstretched arms. “I’ve got you!” she cried, digging in her heels. The Doctor continued bellowing out terrible words in Gallifreyan as Mel battled the escalator for him. Eventually something tore and he was hauled to his feet, where he immediately threw his arms around Mel and lifted her off the ground in his frantic embrace.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he hiccupped, burying his face in her hair. Mel hesitantly patted his back and he released her, turning eye to his ragged clothing. “Oh...my handsome coat,” he whimpered.

“You have another one, don’t you?” Mel reminded him comfortingly, rubbing his shoulder.

The Doctor stared at the shredded edge forlornly. “Well...yes, but this one was my _favorite_.”

Mel thought for a few moments before reaching for one of her bags and examining the shirts that she’d bought. Vibrant. Attractive.

 _Passionate_.

“Don’t worry, Doctor,” Mel announced with a rueful smile. “I think I have just the thing to fix it.”

 


End file.
